Drawing On Old Haunts

Happily the Millennium Gallery has begun the Friday life drawing sessions again. That allowed me to meet up with Tim Rose and have a pleasant time daubing. I always apologize to the model after the session - my efforts are often so Baconesque that any likeness is hard to discern.

The journey to the gallery was made less mundane because some activity on London Road had produced a notable police presence. Sadly, the activity seems to be the possible murder of a young man - drugs and gang involvement seems to be likely. What a civilised place we live in ...

The Indian Summer persists - delightful!

Indian Summer - Walking In The Peak Park

What a week! We've come back to a week of splendid, sunny weather.

Thursday was a beautiful, sunny, almost windless day. Being creatures of habit, we caught the 272 to Castleton and dismounted at Fox House pub. A swift half and we set off along the paths that took us along the base of Burbage Edge towards Burbage Bridge.

Crossing the road we started the slow climb to Stanage Edge where we stopped for a quick snack. The view, though grand, was marred by the haze caused by the inversion. Wandering along Stanage Edge took us to the Pack-horse Track down to The Plantation. Walking down the track and through the trees brought us to the car park where we had an expresso from the little coffee van owned by Val and Nick.

Suitably caffeinated, we walk on towards and down Birley Lane. The highland cows and their calfs standing at the cattle grid payed us little attention, as did the massive bull sating his thirst at a little stream at the side of the lane. We passed our friends' cottages and turned along the track through the fields. Passing the near derelict cottage next to the stream took us past Sir Hugh's Brookfield Manor and on, over the hilled fields, to Hathersage Village.

The deli-cafe provided an excellent pot of tea and cakes which recharged our energies. A short wait and we were re-mounted on the 272 back to Sheffield.

A day out to remember ... about twelve km ignoring the ups and downs ...

Back To Nest No. 2

After a long day, spent mainly waiting for various forms of transport, we are now, unpacked and back at our Sheffield flat. All the travel arrangements worked perfectly (touch wood or iron if your Italian). Ferry, flight, hotel, coach and a couple of taxis got us home in scheduled time. All the food along the way was excellent - what more could a vagabond want?

Stay tuned for some more detailed reports ... it's time for a kip ...

Ferrara Cathedral and Castle

We took the train to Farrara and had an interesting journey. The train stopped a few kilometers from Ferrara for about half and hour. The reason? "crazy man" was sleeping on the track! The police can and removed the sleeping idiot. You have to admit that is an unusual reason for a delay ...

The cathedral is magnificant and probably the most trompe l'oeil ed interior we've seen. The facade is quite fantastic - romanesque gone mad plus.

The castle is simply gigantic! That's all I can say that makes any sense ..

No loonies on the track going back to Venice so the train arrived on time. Quite a long day for the aged legs; about 11 hours in all.

Hot, Over-Touristed, Rubbish Art, But Still A Great Place

We've done even more artificating. It's not any surprise that most of the exhibits are, to be generous, rubbish dressed up as art. Conceptual Art is all very well if you're doing a knowledge college project, but it does wear away any patience you may have had when you enterect the sacred portals of the "Exhibition". We've given up reading the expositions on the intellectual, moral, political, economic, religious, scientific, culinary, Play Doh shaping, finger painting, non-polluting, renewable, recylcable and boring intentions of the artist ...

The Bien is far from what its title implies: Illuminating ...

Venice is just a very special place to be ...

Ho Hum, Moan, Moan It's The Biennale!

We've spent two days trawling round the major venues of this year Venice B. Yes, you've guessed right, another exhibition of someone's C .. R .. A .. P. Thank God for the Italian Pavilion at the Arsenale - as per, it had a majority of good "Art". At least this year there was a pleasing lack of placarded, unintelligible, artists' drivel. Mind you, the Conceptual Art Camp still dominates so that we were left wondering what the piles of junk were supposed to mean ...

Interestingly, Anthony Gormley and partner seemed to follow us through the Giardini exhibition with the same lightening speed ... maybe we aren't the only ones to be other than wowed by what was on offer.

Good food and a diet of various "foreign" TV news in English round off the day.

Venice In The Sun And Rain

All the travel arrangements went like clockwork, only much faster ... The flight arrived 20 mins early which allowed us to catch an earlier ferry, which in turn allowed us to hit dreamland by midnight. A total of 11 hours travelling; this included a 5 hour wait at EMA.

Sunday was spent getting set up at the appartment and buying tickets for the vaporetto and Biennale. A hot day with far too many tour groups.

We managed to visit three of the art events. The Ukrainian exhibit was excellent. The idea, size and location of the huge installation, which uses 3640000 wooden eggs, is a great example of what an installation should be.

An exhibition of Franny Bacon's drawings was also worth the effort.

Monday seems to be blighted with rain, Sue's upset stomach and loads of Chinese tourist groups. We hope their pockets are emptied before they leave ... Monday is also a day when many of the exhibitions are closed.

Let's Hope The Transport Runs ...

We're all packed and ready to go off to Venice - again. Fingers and other extremities are cross. Taxi to the station, National Express coach to EMA,  Ryan Air to Venice Marco Polo airport and ferry to Venice Arsenale. It's exciting, but we still hold our breath ...

Goodbye Mr Flint

A sad yesterday, but it comes to us all. Mr Flint, our dear, sheep chasing, football chewing and biscuit munching friend, came to the end of his 20 year romp.

Goodbye Mr Flint.

On The Doorstep - History

We decided to spend a day wandering in an area near Sheffield, Rotherham and Worksop. There are so many places of historical importance to visit, we restricted ourselves to five during the the afternoon.

Roche Abbey is a English Heritage site. It was closed when we got there. Fortunately the path around the site still allowed us to appreciated the place. The abbey must have looked splendid in its day, situated as it is, in the valley at the base of a limestone cliff.

On to Tickhill for a coffee and cake. St Mary's church in Tickhill dates from the 12th C. The present building dates from late 14th and early 15 C. We were surprised by the size of the church.

At Blyth we bought some lunch at the PO. St Mary and Martin's church was locked. I managed to find the verger and, after a long chat about the history of the place, she gave us the key. The building is an amazing example of a Norman Benedicine Priory dating from 1088. Uncle Henry didn't destroy the place because part of the building, the south aisle, was used as the parish church. The remains of a 15th C fresco, Norman arches and the 15th C rood screen are some of the more important features.

Our visit to Worksop Priory was blighted because the place was closed. A huge building with some modern additions. We'll have to visit again to see the 15th C shrine and chapel. The town traffic directions are so bad, we ended up in a Tesco's car park! Eventually we found our way out of the town ,,,

More Norman delights at St Peter's church in Thorpe Salvin rounded off the day. The main part of the church dates from 1130. The chained bible was bought in 1641; I was surprised to see the bible just placed on a shelf with a loose glass cover. The font came from Normandy in the 12th C.

The ruins of Thorpe Hall is visible from the church, but we couldn't find a way to visit it.












Back to Sheffield in time for the rush hour; an excellent afternoon which emphasised the depth of our culture and it's history.

Well, Well, Well And Not So Well

A typical sunny day with showers added  to the beautiful, Derbyshire countryside. We 272ed to Hathersage where our tour of three village well dressings got off to a damp start.

Wormhill is a delightful, truly rural, village where we had excellent tea and cake before visiting the well dressing and church.

Foolow village looks like a calander picture. First impression is that there are some well healed in-comers taking care of the buildings. The village even has a duck pond which isn't filled with discarded shopping trollies. The little church is plain, but delightful; it dates from only about 1880.

Eyam, the plague village, made our final destination of the day. Two well dressings and a brass band; sadly out of tune and timing, but the large procession made up for that.

The drive around, to and from these villages took us through some of the loveliest of Derbyshire countryside. Bright purple heather, green fields, woods and forest, stone walls and cottages, all set in limestone, deep-rolling dales which are topped by grit-stone edges and moors. That alone was worth the effort of venturing out in the rain.

Back at The Cottage poor Mr Flint looked sadder than ever. He's reached a ripe old age and his health is failing. A sad counterpoint to the enjoyable day with good mates ... that's life Freddy Boy ...

A Formula 1 journey back to Sheffield, in what must have been a supercharged 272, got us home before the evening rain set in.

The Chicken Gets It's Revenge ...

I enjoyed the chicken salad, but the salmonella wasn't supposed to be part of the meal ... enough said ...

Touring The Fens Looking For Ancestors

Another bright, sunny day was cause to saddle up the pony and travel some of the many small lanes that crisscross the fens. Sunday sees less traffic so that the open vistas of Lincolnshire are more easily seen as you weave your way from village to village.

We stopped at Langtoft to look at the church of St Michael All Angels which was open. A surprisingly large building holding a brightly lit space almost free of stained glass. Building dates from the 13 C.

We reached Crowland in time for lunch and a quick half at a local hostelry. The Abbey is a monolithic building. The ruins of the old monastic buildings, that are attached to the what was the naive and aisles, were demolished in the mid 16 C. It was in the early 8 C that a religious community was started here. Interestingly, the original settlement was, in the 8 C, on a island in the fens.

Peterborough Cathedral beckoned. After a frustrating drive round-about roundabouts,  we got there. What a building! Founded in the Anglo-Saxon period and rebuilt in the 12 C, this magnificent Norman building is an startling example of such architecture. Arches upon arches, colourful ceilings, fan vaulting and the last resting place of Katherine of Aragon; what else could you ask for?


Back to the ranch via some very interesting byways. A good day in glorious sunshine ...

All Hail to the Bishop of Bardney

In brilliant sunshine we passed through the village of Great Hale, stopping when we saw the large, church of  St John the Baptist. The church predates the Norman conquest by 100 years. It was an abbey church in the mid 14 C. The clear glass windows allow the interior to be bright and the size of the building reflects it's previous history.

Two Quiet Villages on a Sunny, Lincolnshire Day

 St Peter and Paul's church at Osbournby turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The building seems much larger than expected when you enter. The lack of stained glass means that the church is bright and feels airy. Some of the pews have Medieval carved ends.  The village is a quiet place, reflecting it's Georgian rural architecture.



St Andrew's Scredington church at Scredington looks like it has been given a KKK hat! The church interior is bright, if plain. A truly rural village - no flash mobbing here - that England ...

Nottinghamshire Gems

A excellent drive around three villages in Nottinghamshire took us to three delightful churches.

Our Lady of Egmanton church which was restored by Ninian Comper in the late 19 C. The rood screen took our breath away. Decoration of the organ is equally stunning. The church is a gem. We had a pleasant conversation with several vicars who had just finished their meeting and then with the incumbent's wife.

Next, we visited Laxton which is one of the few places where traditional rotation farm practices are used. The church of St Michael the Archangel is an imposing building sited on a small hill. We were fortunate enough to arrive at the same time as the cleaner - otherwise it would have been locked. The village is part of the Royal Estate; the driving force which results in well kept buildings in keeping with a Georgian village atmosphere. The Dovecote Inn proved to be a very pleasant place to have an excellent beer and over-sized plowman's lunch.

Just down the road is Carlton on Trent. The church was open because the warden was at work. We had an long conversation with her about the state of the world, family problems and the price of tea inn China. St Mary's church is in excellent condition - it's Victorian. Plain, but pleasant and worth a visit.

We were tempted to buy a Lottery ticket; finding three open churches in a row ...

Time for dinner ...

Taddington Moor and Ashford in the Water

We had a beautiful, sunny afternoon spent in the Taddington - Ashford area. The main reason for going to this area was to try and find a chambered tomb on Taddington Moor. The only success we had was a libation ant the Waterloo pub. Walking some of the public footpaths across the fields was a bonus because the views of the green and pleasant were excellent.

Ashford in the Water is a picturesque village; the sort you'd expect to see on a calendar. The village is complete with a pack horse bridge over a small river with trout. We visited Holy Trinity church and then a cafe for refreshments.

So ended a pleasant day out ...

Mam Tor and Edale

A delightful drive down the Edale valley and up to the start of a walk to the top of Mam Tor (1700 ft) took us to the windiest spot you could imagine to site your home. The Bronze/Iron Age people must have though otherwise since there are indications of about 100 dwellings at the top. Mam Tor Hill Fort is reasonably large, but very difficult to make out.

The views of the surrounding countryside are spectacular, which makes the effort of slogging up the Tor worthwhile.

We met a couple of very interesting Chinese journalist students on the way down. Their comments on the recent looting riots were interesting, "Not what you would expect in England. Very Worrying."

We drove down the spectacular Winnants Pass and stopped at The Woodbine Cafe in Hope for a top-up. The name of the cafe amused us given all the anti-smoking activities and advertising. Maybe there is a Park Drive Cafe as well ...

Arbor Low, Nine Ladies, Wind, Sun and Heather

Blustery weather didn't prevent us venturing into darkest Derbyshire. First stop was Arbor Low stone circle. We only had an AA road map which meant - we got lost. Yes, it is possible because there are so many small roads which are not on the map, which you have to use. We tried the satnav in the car - no good unless you want to end up in a farmyard - which eventually did! We were convinced we were within a couple of miles of the stone circle and, fortunately, spotted someone and asked the way. "Just go down the road, about a mile, over the hill and you'll see a brown sign on your left. Can't miss it!" We'd just turned around, on the same road, so that we could ask the chap!

About a mile down the road, we turned off into a farmyard which also acts are the National Trust car park. The sun shone on the best of the scenery you could expect in the White Peak - limestone, rolling hills covered in grazed, grass covered fields bounded by dry stone walls. The views from Arbor Low and the adjacent barrow are magnificent. The stone circle and henge is impressive in extent and the location obviously geographically important. No doubt in the Bronze age the views would have been totally different given that mixed forest would have been the dominant vegetation.

We returned to getting lost with the intention of finding the Nine Ladies, another stone circle. By cunning use of common sense - spotting a load of cars and a bus parked along the side of the road next to a public footpath - we found the circle which is on Stanton Moor. The moor was covered in a dense carpet of bonny, blooming heather, with interspersed the odd bright yellow gorse, so that the walk to the circle was worth the effort alone; fantastic views and amazing colours. The circle is a bit disappointing.

The drive back to Sheffield took us down some spectacular, winding and often steep, hilly minor roads. Sometimes getting lost has great benefits ...

Higger Tor and Frog's Mouth

A blustery day with some light rain didn't stop us taking a pleasant walk in the Dark Peak. Our usual transport, the 272, dropped us off at Fox House pub. We walked through Longshaw Estate until we found a suitable, ant-free spot to have lunch. The woods here have large, active ants' nests which are both interesting and not the sort of thing you want to sit near. Wandering on, we made our way back to the cafe at Longshaw where the National Trust Rangers forced us to eat tea and cake.

We walk to Frog's Mouth and followed the tracks up to Higger Tor. One of the pleasures along the way being the sound of the beck which, while not in flood, still managed a symphony of water music which was accompanied by the light, blustery wind. The views of the surrounding, purple-red, heather covered moors were spectacular. The light rain and billowing clouds added an air of mystery which leads people to think of the moors as wild, isolated places untouched and primordial. Not so. Sheffield is but a short 10 miles away from Higger Tor and the whole landscape has been modifiedby human activity stretching back to well before the Bronze Age.

Hope valley spread out before us so that we could just make out Mam Tor in the distance; atop which are the remains of a very large Bronze-Iron Age hill fort which enclosed up to 100 dwellings; the only blemish on the scene being the cement factory - as has been the case for as long as I have been visiting the area. Human industry spanning 3-4 thousand years in the same valley!

We walked down to Surprise View car park which allowed us to catch the 272 back to Sheffield. A delightful, if wind blown, day out.